Washington Must Not Forget New Mexico

Floor Speech

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Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to submit extraneous material into the Record.

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Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the new Representative of New Mexico's Second District, home to some of the country's most beautiful landscapes, the hardest working people, the best chile, the Nation's first designated wilderness, seven sovereign nations, and a rich and proud binational culture.

New Mexico is my home. It is where I hunt. It is where I fish. It is where I went to school, and it is the place that gave me opportunity.

However, I continue to be troubled. After being here just over 8 weeks, one thing is clear, Congress isn't putting constituents like mine or their families first, and I want to change that.

It is hard to watch other Members from urban communities celebrate lower gas prices while residents in my rural community still pay 35 cents more than the national average.

It is hard to celebrate poverty reduction while we aren't having meaningful conversations about the child tax credit or that one in four children in my district are living in poverty.

It is difficult to spend my time voting on messaging bills while residents in our Tribal communities still have to haul water to their homes.

We must do better for the American people, and we must get to work on the real issues that impact our communities.

I know what it is like to work hard to get ahead. Since I was old enough to work, I have always had a job. I have never had the luxury of financial wealth. I have bagged groceries, worked a drive-through at a fast-food restaurant, I have sold vacuum cleaners door to door, I have painted houses and worked at a Chile Factory, all to make a living and eventually pay my way through college at New Mexico State University.

For too many New Mexicans, working as hard as I did isn't even enough to pay the bills. They feel like the goalposts just keep getting moved on them, and they look to us for help.

But instead, Congress bickers over issues that don't move the ball forward. That is wrong, and it is time that we fix that.

New Mexico is a State rich in culture, pride, and history. It is part of the American story. But, unfortunately, it is also often forgotten.

Too many New Mexicans are struggling. Our rivers are drying, our agricultural industry is in decline, housing costs are rising, and healthcare is too expensive and out of reach.

Washington must pay attention to districts like mine, and they must see our potential. We have a robust energy industry that supports more than 15,000 good-paying jobs, but we also have high rates of respiratory disease in frontline communities, substandard living conditions and housing for workers, and little accountability for the polluting industries.

New Mexico is also a vital part of America's agricultural strength. Our farmers, our ranchers, our farmworkers from the South Valley of Albuquerque to the Hatch Valley work the land every single day to ensure that all of us, as Americans, have access to safe, U.S.-grown, affordable food.

However, we don't have enough access to H2A visas. We have made it harder for farmers and workers to get the support they need to feed our country and lower the cost of food.

New Mexico plays a vital role in our national security, from the most expansive missile testing range in the country at White Sands to the critical training grounds at Holloman Air Force Base, and the groundbreaking research produced at our two national laboratories.

However, we also lack the critical investments in housing, educational services, and transportation services to give our servicemen and -women the quality of life that they deserve when they serve our country.

Washington can no longer forget about communities like mine and about New Mexico. My hometown of Las Cruces is home to over 100,000 people, many hardworking families who are dealing with an unemployment rate higher than the national average, too many kids still going hungry, and low wages, with per capita household income in my district at just $26,000. That is right, $26,000.

For too long our district has been left behind. These inequities are not just felt, the numbers prove it. I am here to fix that, but Congress has to focus on the issues that matter.

I ask for your help, to not leave behind the veterans that bravely dedicated their service and their lives to this country, to ensure that we provide Federal funding for our rural communities so that every New Mexican has access to high-speed broadband and quality healthcare, to ensure that one in four New Mexicans on SNAP have access to healthy, nutritious, and lifesaving food.

I am committed to getting the Second District's fair share in Congress. I am fighting for that in every room I enter, every meeting that I attend, and every vote that I cast. Nothing means more to me than making sure that we get our fair share from Washington, D.C.

To everyone that I have the honor of representing, I promise you I will always make sure that your voice, the voice of the great Second District of the State of New Mexico is heard in the Halls of Congress.

I ask my colleagues to join me and focus on the issues that matter to the American people.

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